May's Pet of the Month
Meet
our good friend and May Pet of the Month, Pedro! Pedro is a 12-year-old
Domestic Short hair who was rescued as a kitten from a cardboard box
in Michigan! He now lives a cushy life here in
Portland. Pedro enjoys relaxing in cardboard boxes,
bird-watching, a good game of batting around wadded up paper, and acting as an
early morning furry alarm clock for his owners! Pedro would like to teach
us about dental disease!
Pedro
recently came in for an exam after his family noticed that he had
some facial swelling and we discovered that he had severe periodontal and
dental disease. Often our pets will hide signs of dental disease (as well
as other signs of disease) for a long time because their basic survival
instincts tell them to avoid showing weakness. Depending on the animal,
you may never know that your pet has something wrong until it becomes an
incidental finding during a wellness examination! However, some signs of
declining oral health include inappetance, drooling, a foul odor from the
mouth, general malaise, and behavioral changes such as hiding and/or even
aggression. By eliminating the disease in the mouth, your pet will have a
better quality of life and many people report a significant positive change in
their pet!
Dental disease not only affects the mouth, it can also cause
significant pain for your pet, loss of teeth and jaw bone, and lead to
systemically circulating bacteria that can cause disease and/or damage to other
organs. After your pet's dental procedure and after their mouth has
healed, it is very important to continue dental homecare to prevent future
disease. This will reduce time spent under anesthesia and improve long
term quality of life. Veterinary-approved diets and treats such as Royal
Canin Dental Diet and CET Chews can also help a lot with home care effort.
Per our
recommendations, Pedro's family scheduled a veterinary dental procedure stat! Pedro
had 16 teeth that were diseased and needed to be extracted as well as some
missing teeth. We took X-rays to assess the health of the teeth below the
gum line, removed the diseased teeth, then cleaned and polished his remaining
teeth. Since Pedro's dental procedure, his mouth has healed nicely and his
owners claim that his love for feisty play has been rejuvinated, and with only
a few teeth left, that he is loving his new diet of wet food!!
